Dough divider



i Oct. 14, 1930.

w. G. KmcHHoF-F 1,778,218

DoUGH DIVIDER 3 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed Dc. 9, 1925 Qwntoz G. KmcHf/orf Patented Oct. 14, 1930 narran stares Parent orner;A

` WILLIAM G. KIRCIIHOFF, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T THE J'. H. DAY

` COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF OHIO DOUGH DIVIDER Application filed December 9, 1925. Serial No. 74,371.

l his invention relates to improvements in dough dividers. l

'An object of my invention is to provide a plurality of dough dividers depositing lumps of divided dough upon the same belt. y

, Another object of my invention is to provide avdeviceto accomplish the above object wherein either of the individual dividers may be operated at onetimeor wherein all of the dividers may be operated at the saine` time.

Another object of my invention is to prol vide' a device that is simple andeconomieal of construction and operation in order to attain the above objects. y

These and other objects are attained by he means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of a device having embodied therein my invention.

Fig. 2 is a View taken on line 2f-2 of Fig. 1, showing part of the device in elevation and other parts in cross section.

Fig. `3`is a cross sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. Ll is a cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1. y p

The device of my invention comprises a frame 10 and 11 having suitable bearings 12 and 13 formed thereon. Suitably journaled 30 in the bearings 12l and 13is a drive shaft 14 having mounted thereon. a drive gear 0r sprocket 15. The frame 10 and 11 carries a.Y platform .16, uponl which a motor 17 is mounted.y Mountedv on one end of the motor 35 shaft 18 is a sprocket 19 for transmitting motion or power to the drive shaft 141 by meansof a sprocket chain 20.y The drive shaft 14 has mounted on' ita gear or pinion 21, which meshes with a gear 22 mounted. on a driven 40 or counter shaft 23, for transmitting motion trom the drive shaft to thek driven shaft.`

loosely mounted on a stub shaft 28 which is carried by suitable bearings 29 and 30 secured to the upper frame 31 yofthe device.

The gears 26 and 27 have formed on their inner faces clutch teeth32 and 3,3 which are adapted to engage clutchteeth 34.- and 35 formed on each side of a clutch spool 3G. Clutch spool 36 is splined to the stub shaft 28 so that clutch teeth 34 may engage clutch teeth 32 or clutch teeth 35 may engage clutch teeth 33, as desired. From the drawings it will be noted that gears 211,25, 26, and 27 are of different sizes whereby a gear box, or change speed mechanism is produced for rotating the stub shaft 2S, sce Fig. 1. A lever 115 having formed therein an opening or perforation 116 through which entends a rod or shaft 113 is provided for actuating the clutch spool 36. The lever 115 is pivotally mounted on the rod 113 as shown at 117, see Fig. 3. The rod 113 is secured longitudinally of the frame 31 in any suitable manner, such as by means of bolts 114. The inner end 118 of lever 115 is bifurcat-d and has rollers 119 mounted on the arms 120 thereof. The rollers 120 enter into a groove 121 formed in the clutch spool 36 for shifting the spool into and out of engagement with the clutch teeth formed on the gears 26 and 27.

A. disc 37 is secured to one end of the stub shaft 23. An arm 38 is pvotally and eccentrically mounted to the disc 37, as shown at 39. The other enfl ll() `o the arm 33 pivoted at Ll1 to a r 112 carried by a collar 13. The collar 4:3 irmed on L ich side of its clutch teeth All an( 4:5 which engage clutch teeth. 4:6 and #17 respectively carried by clutch spools il-8 and #lill Glutei. spool. e8 is splined to truunion() carried by oscillating drum 51 of the dough divider 52. Clutch spool ellis splined 'to a trunnion 53 carried by oscilla-ting drum of the dough divider It will be noted from .ll-Vig. 1 that each of the trunnion's 50 and s tend into the clutch collar i13. It should z so be noted that the rotation of disc .fl-7 causes an oscillation 'of the arui 4t2 and clutch collar i3 through the eccentrically mounted arm 38. It will therefore be olif-:ions that should either of the clutch spools t8 or 4.5) be engaged with the clutch collar Li3, the drum upon which the clutch spool is keyed, will be oscillated. It is also obvious that should all of the clutch .spools be engaged with the clutch collar, all of the forums would be oscillated.

Levers 57 and 58 are provided for actuating the clutch spools 48 and 49. These levers are identical, wherefore a description of one will be suficient for the other. liever 57 coinprises arins 62 havingl bores formed inthe ends thereof through which extends a suitable shaft 68 which is secured in a'bearing 64, mounted on the upper housing 31. The shaft 68 forins a pivot for the lever. rilhe upper. ends of the arms 62 are joined yby a cross-brace 05, from whichfestends the actuating lever 0G.

trunnions of the oscillating drunis are jour` naled.Y A curved plate 124 conforming to the contour of the oscillating drinn 51 is forniedsintegral with the fraine 103.'` The plate 124 is provided with an opening 125 which registers with an opening 72 forined in the drum 51. i rlhe lower portion 126 of the 'i plate 124 forms a closure or seal for the opening 72 when the drum is being oscillated from the horizontal to the vertical position.

Mounted above the oscillating drums 51 and 54 are the dough hoppers 69 and 70 which are identical in construction, wherefore a. description of one will sufiice. rlhe dough hoppers comprise an inclined chute 71V which leads to the opening or pocliet 72 formed in theoscill ting drinn 51. rlhe chute 71 is mounted upon and eilte-nds upwardly from the-hopper frame 10?'. A- dough supply hopper 104 is secured to the chute 71 in any suita# ble inaiuier. ri ie chute 71 andthe hopper 104 `inay be fornied integral or separableas desi ec. rThe hopper 104 ina-y be niade'of a length to entend above the floor above the one upon whichthe divider is positioned or a platform may be built around thel supply hopper 104 for replenishing the supply of dough. A suit-able lid or, cover 105 is provided for sealing the upper en d of the hopper.

' Any suitable quickly detachable ineans or cover may be used. As shown herein, an ordinary cover is used having a suitable lock 10S Y .L .at one side and hinge l0( at the opposite side. The lio oper must beinade air-tiOht and ra gasket 108 has been provided intermediate the upper edge 109 of the hopper 104 and the body of the lid 105 for herinetically sealing' the hopper. The dough is delivered under Rollers G7 are secured to the arms 62v intermediate the pivotal mounting 63 and the cross-brace 65 and extend into a groovef68 of engagement withV pressure to thek opening 72 from the chute 71. ln order to obtain this pressure, compressed air-is admitted to the hopper 104 at the top thereof through suitable pipes 110. A suitable valve 111 is provided in each of the. pipes 110 so that the dough in either hopper in ay be under pressure or not,V as required. fr suitable connecting pipe 112 connects the pipes 110 withthe air, purnp or supply tank, not shown.

Mountedinteriorly of the opening 72 is a piston 73 having secured thereto va piston r0d'74. At the rear of the opening and covering saineV a. plate 75 having a y sleeve-like extension 76is secured.` The piston rod 74 extends through the plate 75 and sleeve 7 6 and carriesat its rear end lock nuts 77. Ad-

justably secured to the piston rod 74 is a stopY 78 against which one en d of a coil spring 7 9 abuts. rlhe other endof'the coil yspring 79 abuts a threadednut 79a secured inthe rear end of thesleeve 7 6. The sleeve 7 G has reciprocally mountedin it a screwVv 80 splined tosleeve 7l. Screw 80 extends into the opening 72 and against which-the stop r78 strikes. A worin wheel 81, internally threaded, is inounted upon the screw 80. A worin 82 is carried by shaft 83 which extends at right angles tothe worin wheelV 81. The shaft 83- has mounted on it aA sprocket; about which sprocket chain 84 passes.v A stud shaft 85,

journaled in one end of a'trunnion 86 carried Vbetween the stop 78 and the screw r80. Mounted on one, end of shaft `23 is a bevel gear y88 which meshes witha complementary bevel gear v89vcarried by; shaft 90. Shaft 90 is suitably journaled vin bearing blocks' 91,

f lill. E

carried by thev frame 10.v Mounted on'onev end of the shaft 90 is a gear 92fwhich ineshes with a gear 93 carried by av second shaft 94. Shaft '94 has mounted on it a belt-drum 95 about which extends belt 96. A second belt-drum 97 about which extends belt 98 is carried by shaft/99 which is driven from shaft 94v throughspur gears100, 101 and idler gear It should further be noted that belts 96 and 98 travelin the same ,dire'ction'f and belt 96 discharges onto belt 98.- A' flouring device 126 is mounted on the fraine 10 in a suitable positionfor dusting both belts `96 and 98.; A

link l127, eccentrically mounted on shaft'94, is provided to actuate the iiouring device.

The operation of my device is as follows: The dough is placed in the hopper 104 of the divider 52 and the lider cover 105 thereof securely locked so that the hopper is airtight. Valve .111 is opened to permit the ccmpressed air to exert its pressure on the mess of dough and force same down the inclined chute 71 toward the opening 7 2 in the drum 51. Clutch spool 86 is then actuated so that thek teeth thereof may be engaged with either of the clutches formedon ,the gears 26` and 27, according to the speed desired. The clutch spool 48 is .now actuated to 'engage clutch collar 48 whereupon the drum 51 is oscillated. The dough, bythis time, has been forced into the opening 72 and the piston 73 pushed forward until the stop 78 on piston rod 7 4 contacts the reciprocating screw 80, thereby compressing the coil spring 7 9. The coil spring 79 exerts a yielding pressure and tends to discharge the opening 72. The lower portion 126 of the plate 124 seals the opening 72 and prevents a discharge of the opening 72 until the opening` has been voscillated to a vertical position, whereupon the spring pushes the piston 73 rearward through the opening 72 until the lock nuts 77 strike the threaded' nut 7 9a carried by the sleeve 7 6. The upper edge 128 of the drum 51 acts as a knife for severing the dough, which has been forced into the opening 7 2, from the mass of dough contained in the chamber 129 formed at the base of the inc lined chute 71. The action of the dough divided 51 continues until the hopper thereof is practically exhausted of dough. In the meantime Vthe hopper of the divider 55 has been replenished with dough and the compressed air admitted to the top thereof. J ust before the divider 52 is exhausted, the clutch lever 57 is actuated to engage clutch spool V49 with the clutch collar 43 for oscillating the drum 54. Both dividers 52 and 55 are now discharging upon the belt 96. It has been found that the first lumps ofk dough discharged from the newly charged divider are under weight and these are manually withf drawnfroin the belt and the divider allowed to continue to operate until the dough portions have reached the properweight. When the lumps of dough from divider 55 have reached the proper weight, the divider 52 is disconnected from the' clutch collar 43 and the hopper thereof recharged with dough. Operation of divider 55 is the same as the operation of divider 52, wherefore a description thereof is unnecessary. A suitable gage may be provided on the hoppers to inform the operator when the rough in the hoppers is depleted.

o As has been previously explained the size ofthe lump of dough may be modified by adjusting the reciprocating screw 80. This adjustment may be made while the divider is in operation, thereby losing no time in adj usting or modifying the weight of the lumps of dough. Although I have described and disclosed my device as employing two dividers, it is readily evident that any number may be constructed in accordance with the disclosures herein for accomplishing an increase in production.

What I claim is:

1. In a multiple dough divider the combination of a frame, a drive shaft carried by the frame, a stub shaft mounted on the frame,

means for transmitting motion from the drive shaft to the stub shaft, a disc mounted on the stub shaft, a plurality of hoppers mounted on the frame adapted to contain a substance under pressure, a drum mounted at the base of each hopper having an opening formed therein, a trunnion formed on adjacent ends of the drums, a clutch collar having an arm exten ding therefrom and receiving within th e bore the ends of adjacent trunnions, a link eccentrically mounted on the disc carried by thestub shaft and on the arm extending from the collar, whereby the rotation of the disc will cause an oscillation of the clutch collar, an endless conveyor, a slidable clutch member splined on adjacent trunnions, and means for actuating the slidable clutch members whoreby to selectively engage the slidahle clutch members with the clutch collar for selectivev joint and several oscillation of the drums for alternately registering the opening in each drum with its respective hopper and discharging same onto the endless conveyor.

2. In a multiple dough divider of the class described the combination of an endless conveyor, two 'dividers each discharging onto the conveyor and each comprising a frame, a hopper associated with each frame, an ose cillating drum having an opening forn'ied therein carried by each frame. a trunnion formed at adjacent sides of the drums, a clutch collar receiving within the bore the adjacent trunnions, au inclined chute for directing a substance from the hopper-s to the dru1ns,.a slidable clutch member splined on each trunnion of each drum, a lever associated with each slidable clutch whereby selective oint and several actuation of the slidable clutches may be obtained for engage ment with the clutch collar, and means for oscillating the clutch collar whereby the drums maybe jointly and severally oscillated for alternately registeringv the opening in the drum withl the chute and discharging same onto the conveyor.

3. In a multiple dough divider of the class described the combination with a belt, of a plurality of dividers-each discharging onto the belt and each comprising a hopper, an oscillating drum mounted at the base of each hopper and having an opening formed therein, a trunnion formed on the adjacent ends of the drums, an oscillating clutch collar havlll) ing journaled therein the trunnions, a slid-1- Y able clutch member splined on cach trunnion,

vdrums a substance underpressure, memns` within the openings for ydischarging sul stancek from said openings, and means for selective joint and several oscillation of the drums.

5. In a device of the classdescribed the combination with an endless conveyor, of a plurality of oscillating' drums having an opening formed in each drum and discharging onto the conveyor, a hopper for each drum containing asubstance under pressure and `adapted to register with the opening in their respective drums, and means for selective oscillation ofthe drums.A

6.l In a dough divider the combination of ahopper adapted to contain a substance under pressure, ran oscillating drum mounted at the base of the hopper having a bore extending therethrough, a trunnion formed at one end of the drum, a piston `,within vthe bore, a piston rod carried lby the pistonl und extending centrally through thebore, a plate having a sleeve-like extension mounted on the drum for closing one end of the opening, a spring mounted on the piston rod yieldingly resisting the substance under pressure, a' lstop mounted on the piston rod for limiting Vthe forward movement of the piston, a screw reciprocable through the sleeve like extension and extending into the pocket against which the stop, strikes, a worm wheel mounted on the screw, a shaft extending at right angles to the'reciprocatingV screw, a worm mounted on Vthe shaft for actuating 'the worm wheel and reciprocating the screw, and means for actuating the worm shaft, said means comprising` a stud shaft'journaled in the trunnion and having asprocketfmounted thereon, a second sprocket mounted on the worm shaft, a chain extending about the sprockets7 and a hand wheel mounted on the stud shaft for actuating the sprockets whereby the worm shaft, worm, worm wheel and reciprocatingscrew are actuated.

7. A divider comprising a hopper adapted to contain a substance under pressure. an oscillating drumy mounted at thelbase ofthe hopper having an opening-formed therein, the opening in the drum alternately registering with the hopper and the atmosphere, a piston -within the opening, a piston rod carried by the piston, a spring mounted on the rod yieldingly. resisting the substance under preventing the-discharge of the openin' un-' til the opening 1s v1n a substantially verticalV position.

8. A dough divider comprising a hopperl for containing a dough under' pressure, an oscillating drum having an opening therein mounted at the base'of the hopper, the openine in thev drum alternately registering with the hopper and the atmosphere', Va piston within the opening adapted'to be moved by the dough, a piston rod extending fo wardly therefrom, means within the opening for ,1- justably limiting the movement of the piston and a spring mounted on thepiston rod yieldingly resisting movement ofthe piston and discharging the opening after the opening has been oscillated to a dischargeL position. y K Y 9. ln a divider the combination of a hopper containing a substance under pressure.,`

an oscillatino' drum mounted at the base of the hopper havingy anlopening formedtherein, Vthe opening alternately registering. with the hopper and the atmosphere, a piston within the opening adaptedv tobe moved by-thesubstance having a piston rodertend- AingV forwardly therefrom, yieldingv means within the opening yieldingly' resistingmovement of the piston', and tending to discharge substance from the opening, and

means for adjustably limit-ing the movement of the piston, said means comprising a stop carried bythe piston rod, a reciprocating screw extendingV into the opening contacting the stop, a worm wheel mounted on the reciprocating screw, a worm, and means for actuating' thev worm .and worm wheel for reciprocating the screw thereby adjustably limiting the movement of thepiston.

10. In a dough divider the combination of` a hopper containing a dough under pressure, an Voscillating drum having an opening Y formedthereima piston reciprocally mounted inthe opening` adapted to be moved 'by thek dough while in a horizontal position, a

piston rod' carried by the piston and extending forwardly therefrom, an adjustable spring mounted on the piston rod yieldingly resistingmovementrof the piston and urging the piston forward to discharge the dough from the opening, and means on the hopper to prevent the discharge ofthe opening until the opening has been actuatedl to a discharge position. i f

ll. A dough divider comprising a hopper containing a dough under pressure, an oscillating drum having an opening therein mounted at the base of the hopper, the opens ing in the vdrum alternately registering with the hopper and atmosphere, a piston within the opening adapted to be moved by the Ilm dough, means Within the opening adjustably limiting the movement oithe piston, and adjustable means yieldingly resisting movement of the piston and discharging the 5 dough from the opening after the opening has been actuated to a discharge position.

l2. The combination of a pair of adjustable synchronously operable dough dividers,`means submitting to each divider sep- H arate masses of dough under pressure, a common actuating means for the dividers,` and means for selective andjoint operation of the dividers by the common actuating means. 13. The combination of a pair of dividlf, ers for operation on plastics, means submitting to each divider separate masses oi' plastic under pressure, a common means for receiving discharges oi' plastic from both dividers, means for effecting synchronous Q0 movement of said dividers and said receiving means, and means for selective and joint operation oi' the dividers.

lil.. The combination of a pair of roclable divider-s for operation on plastics, means submitting to each ldivider separate masses of plastic under pressure, a common actuating means for the dividers, means for selective and joint operation of the dividers lby the common actuating means, and a comao mon means operable synchronously with the dividers for receiving discharges of plastic from both dividers.

15. A synchronized dough Working mechanism comprising a conveyor, a pair of adjust- 35 able dough dividers, power means `for movf ing the conveyor and meansior providing joint and several operation of the dividers from said power means in synchronism With the conveyor. 40 16. In a device for providing an unlimited timed series of dough lumps of uniform size the combina-,tion of a plurality of dough hoppers, means to controllably subject ldough in said hoppers to unii'orm pres- 45 sure, 'divider mechanism cooperating With each hopper, conveyor means adapted to receive the discharge from the divider mechanisms, power means to' synchronously actuate the conveyor means and divider mechanisms, and means to eiect selective and jointconnection of the divider mechanisms With the power means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereuntoV subscribed'myname this lst day of December, 1925. f f

VJILLIAM G. KIRCI-IHOFF. 

